by anyajulia | Dec 29, 2008 | Headlines, National News
NEW year’s gift or the classic right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing?
At a time when the government is easing up to pass the Reproductive Health Bill in efforts to get a grip on bursting population na dits management, its premier health insurance provider is also launching expanded maternity care package coverage this year.
In a move that may be translated by many as conflicting, the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) has recently expanded the coverage for the Maternity Care Package.
With the recent move, the government now included claims for the fourth normal spontaneous delivery, according to Circular No. 20, series of 2008.
This new benefit applies to normal (uncomplicated) deliveries, and may be availed in PhilHealth accredited hospitals and non-hospital facilities such as birthing homes, lying-in or midwife-managed clinics, Philhealth said.
Normal delivery birth would mean spontaneous onset of labor; low risk at the start and during labor, and delivery.
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by anyajulia | Dec 27, 2008 | Headlines, Local News / Bohol Balita
TUBIGON, under Mayor Luna Piezas, jumps from its last classification as 3rd to first class town, an achievement that would probably go in local history as rare.
Tubigon shares with Ubay barging into becoming Bohol’s first class towns, a position then solely occupied by Talibon.
Then earning a little less than P44 million four to five years ago, the town’s income leaped astronomically in the past three years to an average of P55 million, reported town treasurer Servanda Salomon.
Records bare that Tubigon has earned an average of P63.361 in the past 3 years, catapulting it to the top position.
On the development, local tax observers see that the dynamic local leadership and its improvement of the town market is instrumental in the increase of income.
While many Tubigon residents speculate about increased taxes to maintain the status, Salomon said that aside from the real property taxes, which they do not have any control, municipal taxes remain the same, or until a new tax ordinance is passed.
“There is no upgrading yet of local taxes, except the real property tax, which is revised every three years, she said.
We are expecting a revision of municipal tax ordinances in 2010, as mandated by the local government code, she added.
Wanting to downplay the fear of tax rate jumps, the town bagman said the biggest impact of the re-classification is increase in paychecks for local employees.
“The reclassification basically affects the salaries of local employees; the salary standardization would now be using the first class bracket following salary standardization,” she bared.
The Bureau of Local Government and Finance (BLGF) in its memorandum of circular no 01-M (15)-08 dated November 20, 2008 has issued the re-classification of Bohol municipalities, effective July 29, 2008.
According to BLGF, class brackets are based on average annual income in three years.
First class towns should have an average of P55M or more, 2nd class towns earning P45M to P54M average.
Third class towns earn P35M to P44M; fourth class: P25M to P34M; fifth class P15M to P24M and sixth class towns earn below P15M. (rachiu/PIA)
by anyajulia | Dec 27, 2008 | Headlines, National News
AT P280 against P600 per kilo, it is quite logical that people convert to R12, but with a devastating effect it gives to earth’s ozone layer, it is also understandable why the government is off to a phase-out of the cheaper refrigerant.
Come 2010, all those cars, refrigerators and air-conditioning units using the dreaded chlorofluorocarbons (R12 Freon) may be wasted, unless they are retrofitted with the environment friendly hydrofluorocarbons (HFC 134a).
CFC-12 or Freon, an ozone depleting substance, is widely used as cooling agent especially in car air-conditioning systems. However, a freon total phase-out following zero importation by year 2010 would force the refrigerant to be irrelevant in the Philippines, being among the signatories to the Montreal Protocol on the Protection on the Ozone Layer, sources said.
In short, what becomes vogue in 2010 are those that use non-CFC, because freon is the earth’s biggest ozone depleting substance.
How does a retrofit cost? Well, according to air-conditioning technicians, not much, except that units need to be using different capilla oil, one that has Society of Automotive Engineers 20 viscousity.
The Department of Transportation and Communication – Land Transportation Office (LTO) and Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) – Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is implementing a regulation under the DOTC-DENR Joint Administrative Order No. 3 series of 2006.
This would also impose upon car-owners the mandatory inspection of their car aircon systems as a prerequisite for renewal and registration.
This means all model 1999 vehicles to present should only have R-134a or non-CFC air-conditioning system to be registered.
It also means HFC-134a air-con system vehicles are banned from converting to freon as commo practice to skip the expensive hydrofluorocarbons and other blends.
Older models with Freon-using airconditioning system may be allowed to register until 2012, but they have to retrofit.
Notwithstanding its commercial and industrial value, CFCs pose serious environmental threats.
Studies undertaken by various scientists revealed that CFCs released into the atmosphere accumulate in the stratosphere, where they had deleterious effect on the ozone layer.
Stratospheric ozone shields the earth’s living organisms from harmful ultraviolet rays.
For the concern over ozone depletion, the ban against CFCs in aerosol-spray dispensers have now graduated into total ban for CFC. (rachiu/PIA)
by anyajulia | Dec 22, 2008 | Features, Headlines, Local News / Bohol Balita, Tourism
A world-class musical drama by a community theater rendered at the foot of the centuries old watchtower is the latest in culture and history pedagogy now making a hit in Bohol.
Here, a community theater tells the story in a brilliant weaving of music and dance.
The artistic cultural presentation retells the infamous pangayaw raids of the moro Tirones, one that would force the people to fortify for themselves and build a stone watchtower for their defense and organize an armada of boat riding men to meet the raiders and engage them in battle at sea.
Pangayaw is a traditional pillaging of moro tribes in the region for gold, food and slaves to be sold to rich sultans in Mindanao in the 17th century.
Performed by local Cultural Collective at the foot of the centuries old watchtower, the Castillo del San Vicente Eco-Heritage Tour officially opened with much fanfare Thursday, December 18 at the Punta Cruz Complex in Maribojoc.
Mayor Leoncio Evasco, in an interview before the musical and artistic rendition of the tour’s main highlight aired his elation over the outcome of their effort to help the community.
Aided by a funding agency partner and assisted by an NGO, the government and contacted artists, the mayor said the town has developed livelihood and enterprise as well as harnessed young talents in the area.
Along with Bohol Alliance of Non-Government Organizations in a project called Building Livelihood Enterprise in Support for Sustainable Eco-Tourism (BLESSED) in Maribojoc, the local government has also effectively reclaimed the town landmark from it’s an image as just one of the many heritage towers here, but as a root of local history and culture becoming a major crux of tourism activities.
“Along the process, the Punta Cruz Cultural Collective, a community theater comprised by 21 artists who went through the Basic Integrated Theater Arts Workshop was established” creative and artistic consultant Lutgardo Labad said.
“The soft launching turned out to be a major event which opened eyes to the historical realities that shaped the local culture and tradition,” admits a Maribojoc local artist who witnessed the 30 minute artistic performance.
Performed at the foot of the 17th century watchtower venerated to San Vicente Ferrer, the brilliant dramatization of historic moro raids intricately weaves the past with the present, reinstating the towering role of the heritage structure in the lives of Maribocjanons, shared a retired teacher too awed by the performance.
Trained local artists from barangays Punta Cruz, Guiwanon, Lagtangon and Bood all of Maribojoc staged the dramatization using classic pangalay (southern temple worship dance) choreography, indigenous instrumentation and the age-old chanted narration to thread the entire story line.
At the opening rites, PACAP Bohol project coordinator May Blanco hailed the town for the integration of culture, empowerment, conservation and history to develop economic and livelihood opportunities for communities.
She pointed out that several development plans overlook the crucial culture and environment, but now Maribojoc.
The Castillo del San Vicente Eco-heritage Tour is unlike your other stops that takes about 15 minutes.
This is may be an hour-long tour featuring local guides, cultural presentations, souvenir item shopping and the soon to open marine protected area guided tours, Fritzie Mae Zamora tells.
Zamora coordinates Bangon tourism assisted events and also helps communities develop tourism support products.
The tour at the Punta Cruz complex also feature banana chip pasalubongs, native souvenir items crafted by nearby communities and next year also adds a guided marine protected area tours, she added. (rachiu/PIA)
by anyajulia | Dec 22, 2008 | Headlines, National News
IN time for Christmas, the government gives a gift that may go a long way for lifeline power consumers, including Boholanos through the Katas ng VAT.
The gift comes in the form of P500 government power subsidy for lifeline consumers who are good payors, Bohol Electric Cooperative Assistant general manager Engr. Virgilio Fortich explained over the weekly Kapihan sa PIA Thursday.
The Kapihan discussed concerns on the government power subsidy and invited BOHECO and Bohol Light Company Inc. to elucidate on Pantawid Koryente: Katas ng EVAT, a topic that concerns lifeline power consumers.
By lifeline, the government means residential consumers whose power consumption last May was below 100.
The government decided to hand down the subsidy to help dampen the impact of high oil prices that cause disastrous volatility in prices of basic commodities, including power consumers.
With BOHECO as partner in the government program, the Bohol power provider would effect the power subsidy in December, or at a time when people are expected to be consuming and thus paying more.
The peak usage of power would be in December where people put in additional consumption with the Christmas lights.
But the subsidy, according to Engr. Fortich would not be transferable, non-convertible to cash and would only be creditable to the monthly billings beginning December until the whole amount is used up.
Of the P500 subsidy, he means that if a consumer uses up only about 20 kilowatts per month, the subsidy would be stretched until the whole amount is credited and is left with a no-balance.
In that case, if a consumer qualifies to avail, and if by December his billing is more than P500, he would only pay the balance.
And in other case, if the December billing consumption is only about P100, then the consumer can still stretch his subsidy until he uses up the whole amount.
Over this, BOHECO institutional services department manager Ernesto Mascarinas reiterated the call for consumers to go to the nearest Boheco collection station to get their credit memos.
The credit memo allows consumers to know if the qualify to the program or not. (rachiu/PIA)
